5 Ways to Eat Healthy in College

Because college is better when you eat right.

10 April 2016

Studying abroad is both a fun and formative period in your life. Having left your home, you’ve now got many added responsibilities—for one, taking care of yourself depends solely on you. Eating healthy is sometimes a challenge in college, what with all the studying, stress, sleepless nights, and of course, social activities. This can result in poor health or often, the ‘Freshman 15’—a commonly used expression that refers to the weight (about 10-15 pounds) students gain in their first year at college.

If you fear falling prey to this unhealthy pattern, here are some useful and easy tips that you can follow to develop healthy eating habits in college:

Plan Your Meals

College meal plans include a variety of options. They are usually designed to benefit you, but can easily be abused; in a school where you pay a flat rate for each meal, it's quite tempting to opt for deep fried comfort foods and a selection of desserts. To make the best use of your meal plan in a healthy way, you need to plan your meals in order to meet your daily caloric intake. Avoid excessive carbohydrates; when consumed in high amounts, carbs can begin to stack up as reserves or fat. Let your nutrition rather be dependent on proteins and complex carbohydrates, which are easily digested.

Improve Late Night Snacking

We know how hard it is to avoid snacking at night, especially when pulling all-nighters for exams. When hunger strikes, make a conscious effort to eat healthy snacks. An apple is the perfect choice as it is high in vitamin C, B6 and potassium, which decrease blood pressure, lower blood sugar and helps you relax. Berries are another great snack, as they are high in fiber so they can fill you up quickly. Interestingly, a cup of berries contains less than 100 calories. Another ideal solution for late-night cravings is yogurt; this creamy and delicious snack is low in calories and a great source of calcium. This being said, do allow yourself to indulge occasionally.

Cook Healthy

Cook your meals if you have an opportunity to do so. This way you will know exactly what is going into your meals and can take responsibility for making healthy choices. You will also find that this is a cost-effective and personally rewarding experience. Cook several meals in advance, or one giant meal which you can divide into many portions and freeze—that’s dinner ready for the whole week! In this way, you’ll have more time for other activities, while still ensuring a healthy and balanced diet.

Establish A Routine

Never skip meals. Your day should always start with breakfast, because it provides the body with energy. Breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day.This meal should include up to 35% of your the daily caloric intake as it restores your glucose levels, which is essential for regular brain functioning. Several schools give students the option to bring snack lunches to class, which allows you to prepare your lunch bag in advance, and stay well-fed despite a packed schedule. A proper dinner on the other hand can reduce the urge for late-night snacks. Avoid carbs and extra salty food at night, as this can lead to tiredness the next day. Instead, fuel up on fruits and vegetables; not only do these have less calories, but they improve your sleep.

Don’t Drink Your Calories

Fizzy drinks may feel refreshing, but are high in calories and sugar. Try not to consume them, and when you do, dilute them with water or ice. A great alternative is to make your own drinks (tip: use honey or agave nectar as a sweetener instead of sugar) and place them in ‘to go’ cups.

If eating healthy is a priority for you, it’s best to look for schools that focus on providing healthy meal plans. There are several campuses across countries that do offer such dining options. For example: the Bowdoin College in Maine purchases products from local farmers to provide meals that are fresh and use organic ingredients; the Washington University in St Louis partners with Bon Apetit Management Company to offer seasonal, vegetarian, kosher and halal meals, as well as special plans for those students with various food allergies; Queen’s University in Canada meets all the needs of its students, offering meals that range from comfort to vegan and gluten-free dishes.

Eating healthy in college may take a bit of work and might not seem essential on a day-to-day basis, but it’s certainly beneficial in the long run. We hope you choose to eat healthy for an improved college experience!

About the Author:Dragana Dimitrievska graduated from the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of St Cyril and Methodius in Macedonia. A dentist by profession, she is planning to soon become a student again in the hopes of specialising in oral surgery at a university in Germany.

Looking to Study Abroad? SchoolApply can help!

GET MATCHED WITH THE BEST EDUCATION AROUND THE WORLD

SchoolApply will help you find, get accepted and eventually enroll at a university that fits you. You’ll work with a SchoolApply advisor who will guide you through the whole application process.
With just one application, you can apply to multiple universities!

The Application Journey

The Application Journey

01

Create Account

To build your SchoolApply profile, you will need to answer a few questions about yourself, your academic goals
and your finances. We won't share this information with anyone else. Creating a SchoolApply account is the first
step in your journey to studying at a university abroad.

02

Upload documents

The documents you upload will help us determine if we can support you in your goal of studying at a university
abroad. You will need to pay a SchoolApply admin fee in order to move on to step 3.

03

Meet your advisor

Your very own advisor will guide you through the Application Journey. At step 3, you will call your advisor so
you can express what is important to you and they can tell you about your options. After the call, your advisor
will send you a list of universities you can apply to.

04

Start application

With SchoolApply, you only need to create one application; your advisor will submit it to the universities for
you. For your application, you will need to include your academic history, English and entrance exam results,
an essay and reference letters. You will also pay an application fee to each university through SchoolApply.

05

Submit application

Your advisor will review the things you uploaded in step 4 and will submit your completed application to the universities
you selected. You will receive a notification when a university's response comes in.

06

Accept an offer

This might be one of the most exciting parts of the Application Journey! To accept an offer, you will need to pay
a deposit (you can do this through SchoolApply) to confirm your acceptance. Remember: you can only accept one
offer!

07

Visa interview

You will need to go to the embassy of the country where you will be studying to get your student visa. Let your
advisor know when the visa interview is scheduled. At this step, we will also offer to help with booking your
flight and arranging housing, insurance and student loans.

08

Study abroad

The final step in your Application Journey is letting us know that you're on your way to university. This step
is the easiest because we don't need any information. At this stage, we can close your SchoolApply account.

Choose your account

SchoolApply lets you choose exactly how much support you will receive as you apply to universities abroad.
When you set up your SchoolApply account, you can continue using the free version or you can make an upgrade to take full advantage of our expert counseling services.

Want more?

The Founders account gives you access to all the personal services of the Platinum account, but goes even further. First, our founders will make it their personal mission to get you the best possible acceptance at a top university. Secondly, you will be counselled by top university graduates and senior executives from notable FT500 companies.

This account is by invitation only Price $3,000

Search Schools

Payment

Please make sure that your card is enabled for online payments before you proceed.

We use cookie policy to help us optimize your experience, by continuing you accept this. Read our cookie policy